Automatic fire-extinguisher.



'E. R. BRODTON. AUTOMATIC FIRE EXTINGUISHER.

APPLICATION FILED NOV-25,1914.

L w fiwo Patented July 24, 1917.

I 3 SHEETS-SHEET I.

P 311 ue'nfoz @Wwmw wd W 215 a in??? E. R. BRODTON.

AUTOMATIC FIRE EXTINGUISHER. APPLICATION FILED NOV. 25. L914.

134g62 Patented July 24, 1917.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

P l vi tmmeo E. R. BRODTON.

AUTOMATIC FIRE EXTINGUISHER APPLICATION FILED NOV. 25. 1914.

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Patented 'July 24, 1917.

3 SHEETS-SHEET a.

a? new 60 49/ 20 30 A90 A o Q F 5 250 gmmm W WM EDWARD R. BRODTON, OF WASHINGTON, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, TO SYPHO-CHEMICAL SPRINKLER CORPORATION, OF NEW YORK,

N. Y., A CORPORATION OF YORK.

- Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 24L, 11am.

Application filed November 25, 1914. Serial No. 873,987.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EDWARD R. BRODTON,

' of Washington, District of Columbia, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Automatic Fire-Extinguishers; and do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof.

This invention relates to fire. extinguishing apparatus generally, and in particular to apparatus for discharging upon the fire a chemical liquid, or gas, the system being at all times supplied with the chemical in readiness, upon the outbreak of ,a fire, to

be discharged thereon while the fire is in its incipiency, and generally stated, myobject' is to provide such an apparatus which will necessitate no pressure upon the liquid in the pipes under normal conditions and which will be adapted for use at will, in supplying the extinguishing fluid to rooms, or compartments, which are so filled with their contents, such for example as store rooms, or the holds of vessels, as to render access thereto for the purpose of replacing sprinkler heads difiicult, or highly inconvenient, and for the attainment of these general objects and others that will be apparent when the nature of the invention is under: stood, my invention consists in the extinguishing apparatus having the construction and arrangement of parts substantially as hereinafter specified and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings Figure 1 is a side elevation of parts in section of one form of apparatus embodying my invention; v

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of a different apparatus embodying my invention; 7

Fig. 3 is a side elevation of a third form of apparatus in which my invention is em bodied;

Fig. 4 is a view showing yet another embodiment of my invention.

In its best form my invention contemplates the employment of a receptacle in the form of a tank for fire extinguishing liquid, piping leading therefrom to the various parts of. the structure to be protected, such as a building, or a ship, provision being made whereby upon the outbreak of a fire and by the automatic opening of a sprinkler head the extinguishing liquid will be forced from the supply pipe through the open sprinkler head by an expelling pressure, preferably produced by the mixing of suitable gas generating chemicals, such as bicarbonate of soda and sulfuric acid. I have heretofore applied for patent which was issued June 15, 1915 and is N 0. 1,143,169, for apparatus having the general characteristics I have just set forth, but in such case the liquid in the pipes and other parts of the system is'normally constantly under a high pressure, which, upon the outbreak of a fire efi'ects the commingling of the gas generating chemicals, the setting in action of the system, being consequent upon a dropping, or lowering of the pressure upon the liquid in the system due to the opening of a sprinkler head. By my present invention I provide for the maintenance of the desired high pressure which is necessary to cause the operation of a gas generating chemical, but without subjecting the liquid in the distributing portion of the system to such high pressure, or, indeed, to any pressure at all, the extinguishing liquid that is present in the distributing portion of the system being in effect merely a looking, or holding means, so to speak, for preventing the mingling of the gas-producing chemicals until released by the opening of a sprinkler head, or other form of outlet from the distributing members of the system. The advantages of re moving, or not having pressure upon the liquid in the distributing portion of the system will be obvious when it is considered that thereby danger of leaks, or bursting is avoided and that portion of the apparatus in which the. high pressure is maintained can be of limited, or circumscribed extent and, therefore, readily kept under observation to enable assurance to be had of its safe and working condition V In the apparatus shown in Fig. 1 of the drawing, I employ a tank, or cylinder 10 which is divided by a horizontal partition 11 into a lower compartment12 to contain a chemical extinguishing fluid and into an upper compartment 13 which contains a solution of bicarbonate of soda and in which is placed a receptacle 14 for sulfuric acid, such receptacle being in the form of an inverted bottle and supported by a frame 15 so as to be slidable vertically therein, said frame depending from the ca or cover 16 for the opening in the top 0 the chamber 13. Below the bottle, and supported by the frame 15, is a knife, or cutter 17, which. upon the/downward movement of the bottle cuts through the stopper, or seal of the bottle and thus frees the sulfuric acid so that it may pour out of the bottle into the bicarbonate of soda solution 13 and thus generate a gas to furnish the desired pressure for forcing the chemical extinguishing fluid through the pipes and outlets that constitute the distributing portion of the apparatus, or system. A distributing pipe 18 leads from the bottom of the chamber 12 and from it a desired number of branches 19 lead to the rooms, or compartments to be protected, sprinkler heads 20 being applied to the portion of the branch pipes 19 in such rooms. Gas generated in the pressure chamber 13 is led therefrom by a pipe 21 extending from the top of said chamber upward to a horizontal pipe 22 in which is a check valve to prevent back pressure into the chamber 13, and which pipe 22 is connected to a pipe 24 that opens into the upper part of the chemical extinguishing liquidchamber 12. The pipe 24 has a branch, or extension 25 leading upward from the point of connection therewith to the pipe 22, which, at its upper end is in communication with the interior of a pressure chamber, or dome 26. Just outside the point of connection of the pipe 25 and dome 26, the pipe 25 has a branch 27 equipped with a stop cook 28 and having beyond the latter a coup-ling end 29 for the connection therewith of an air pump by which any desired pressure, say 150 pounds, may be produced in the pressure chamber, or dome 26. Adjacent the connection of the branch 27 with the pipe 25, the latter has a cook 30 by which communication between the dome 26 and the pipe 25 beyond the cock 30 is controlled, so that not until it is desired is the pressure in the dome 26 transmitted to the pipe 25.

The cock 30 normally occupies a position cutting off communication between the pressure chamber 26 and the pipe 25, and it is maintained in that position subject to being moved to open communication between said chamber and said pipe by devices that are under the control of the chemical extinguishing liquid in the pipes leading from the chamber 12. To accomplish this I provide the vertical member, or riser 31 of the supply pipe 18 with a horizontal extension 32 leading from a point near the upper end of said riser 31 to which pipe 32 is applied a bellows-form pressure device 33, such as is shown and described in my application Serial No. 856,445 filed Aug. 12, 1914. The liquid filling the pipe 32 and the bellows when in an expanded position, prevents the bellows from collapsing. Upon the opening of a sprinkler head 20 allowing the efliux of liquid from the pipe 32,

the bellows will collapse, or close and in so doing will release a latch 34 which maintains a weighted lever 35 that is connected by a link 36 with the crank arm, 37 of the cook 30 in a position that maintains the cock in a closed state. It will thus be seen that automatically by the efliux of the liquid from the pipe 32, the cock operating devices are actuated to open the communication between the high pressure chamber 26 and the pipe 25, whereupon the contents of the pipe 25 are subjected to that high pressure. I make use of that high pressure to effect the commingling of the sulfuric acid and bicarbonate of soda solution, which may be done by the deviceshown in Fig. 1, which comprises a bellows, or other form of pressure device 38, similar to the pressure device 33, the bellows of which is subject to pressure in the pipe 25 by means of abranch 39 leading from the coupling 40 which connects the pipes 24 and 25, and a lever 41 that is connected with the rod 42 of said pressure device 38 and is connected with the rod 43 of a similar bellows-form pressure device 44 applied to the cover 16 of the chamber 13 as a convenient means for transmitting movement of the lever 41 to the bottle, or holder 14 to force the seal, or stopper thereof, against the cutter 17 to open said bottle, the construction in all essential respects being similar to that shown and described in my aforesaid application Serial No. 856,445, filed Aug. 12, 1914.

A pressure gage 45 is connected with the pipe 27 soas to indicate the pressure within the dome 26. It will thus be seen that I utilize the liquid in the distributin portion of the system under normal (301111110115 to act as a lock, or holder for a device, or mechanism which controls the use of the high pressure that is required to cause the operation of the appliance for bringing about the mingling of the chemicals to generate the gas required for forcing the extinguishing liquid from the distributing portions of the apparatus, and, hence, remove from the distributing portion of the apparatus a pressure that is undesirable.

Inorder to fill the chamber 12 and the distributing portion of the apparatus with chemical extinguishing fluid, I carry the top of the riser 31 to a point higher than any part of the apparatus which is to contain the extinguishing chemical, and close its end with a removable plug v46 so that at that point the extinguishing liquid can be introduced into the system filling all the distributing and other pipes as well as the chamber 12 with the extinguishing liquid and filling the pipe 25 to a level above the point of connection of the air intake 27 therewith. Suitable air vents 47 are provided at the necessary, or desired points in the piping to allow the escape of air during the filling operation.

To enable the contents of the chamber 13,

either alone, or together with chemical from,

the chamber 12 to be applied to the fire, I connect the chamber 13 at its bottom by a pipe 48 with the riser pipe 31, placing therein a check valve 49 to prevent back pressure inthe chamber 13 from the riser 31, and a three-way hand operated cock 50 which controls communication between the chamber 13 and the riser 31 and a drain 51.

Preferably the riser 31 is provided with a gate valve 52, so that the supply of extinguishing fluid from the chamber 12 may be shut off when desired.

' Preferably at desirable points, signals, or alarms are provided, such as the mechanically actuated hell, or gong 52 which is automatically set in action upon the opening of a sprinkler head, or the efilux of liquid from the distributing pipes of the system by a pressure actuated releasing device 53 similar to the device 33.

In the holds of vessels and warehouses, or storage places, oods may be so closely packed as to render diflicult the eflicient application of an extinguishing liquid to an incipient fire under conditions wherea gase ous or aeriform fluid can find ready access by penetrating and permeating the spaces between the packages, boxes, etc. To provide for this condition, I equip myapparatus so that the extinguishing fluid in the form of a gas or vapor, may be supplied to such closely filled compartments. This'may be done by extending any desired number of pipes 54 to the desired points from the pipe 21 so that the carbonic acid gas gener ated in the chamber 13 may pass into and through the pipes 54 to always open nozzles, or outlets 540 in thepipes 54, and automatically operating, thermostatic valve 55 being provided to prevent, under normal conditions, the flow of gas out of the nozzles. The thermostatic valve 55 is, of course, in the compartmentto be protected, so that the thermostatic member will be subjected to the action of the heat produced by the out break of the fire in the compartment.

It will be seen that by reason of the pi e connection 24 to the chamber 12 and t e pipe 25, the high pressure in the dome, or chamber 26, when the cock 30 is open, acts upon the chemical extinguishing, fluid in such chamber 12 and forces the same out through the supply pipes and thus the discharge of the extinguishing chemical is begun immediately upon the opening of thecock 30 due to the outbreak of a fire without waiting for the generation of en'ough'pressure in the chamber 13 for expelling the chemical extinguishing liquid, but when that becomes sutficient it becomes effective.

By reason of the pipe connection 48 between the soda solution tank 13 and the distributing pipe 31, the. soda solution may a pressure device 380, corresponding to the device 38 shown in Fig. 1, is connected by a pipe 390 with the pipe between the cock and the high pressure chamber 260, so that said pressure device 380 is at all times subject to the high pressure Within the chamber 260, and the operation of the lever 141, which brings about the mingling of the sulfuric acid and the bicarbonate soda solution is brought about by the lowering of the pressure in the pipe 390, due to the automatic opening of the cock 130 by the efllux of fluid from the distributing portion of the system.

In the embodiment of my invention shown in Fig. 3, no extra receptacle, or chamber for the chemical extinguishing liquid is provided, but all of the chemical extinguishingliquid that is provided is contained in the system of pipes, and in such a case the tank 101 contains only the bicarbonate of soda solution and the lottle, or holder for sulfuric acid so that in all essential respects the structure is like the upper part of the tank shown in Fig. 1. The only outlet from the tank 101 shown in Fig. 3 is the pipe 210 leading from the top thereof which is connected by the pipe 250 with the high pressure tank 261 and with the supply pipe having one, or more branches 191 leading to the points where sprinkler heads 201 are to be located. In regard to the matter of the cock 301, and its controlling and operating devices, the structure shown in Fig. 3 is similar to that shown in Figs. 1 and 2 and it is also similar to the air intake pipe 291 and an automatically released mechanical gong, or bell 521 may also be provided. A filler pipe 460 is provided that rises from the supply pipe 190. The devices for causing the mingling of the sulfuric acid and the bicarbonate of soda solution shown in Fi 3, are similar to those shown in Fig. 1.

onnecting with the pipe 250. are numerous branch pipes 192 leading to the points desired to be protected, where are located the nozzles, or outlets 194, and each of said branches 192 is provided with a thermostatic valve 550, thisarrangement being similar to the provision illustrated in'Fig. 1, with the supply of extinguishing fiuid in the form of a gas or vapor. Each of the branch pipes 192 may be provided with a valve 193 by which, at will, the communication with the discharge pipes beyond the point of location of said stop cocks, ,is controlled.

charges the fire extinguishing fluid in a room that is filled with goods and is inaccessible for replacing such sprinkler head by a new one the valve 193 controlling the supply 5 fluid in that pipe may be closed and the remainder of the system is kept in normal working condition notwithstanding the fact the particular nozzle, o-r sprinkler head that has been called into use may be left in an open inoperative condition. Of course, at any time thereafter should a fire break out in the location under the control of such sprinkler head, or nozzle, by opening the proper valve 193, extinguishing fluid can be supplied thereto. A similar controlling valve may be applied to the gas discharging pipes 192'.

The dome, or pressure chamber 26 may, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3, be a simple cylinder, but a construction whereby the pressure through the pipe 24 to the chamber 12 may be a constant one, is obviously desirable, and for that reason such a construction and arrangement of the pressure chamber 26, as shown in Fig. 1, is desirable. As shown in Fig. 1, the pressure chamber 26 is extensible and contractible, being in fact a metal bellows, and to the top thereof is applied a desired number of weights by the descent of which, as the pressure flows from the chamber 26, the pressure will be constant, or uniform. The bellows device is the same as that shown and described in my application Qbefore mentioned. Obviously a cylinder with a moving piston in it would answer the same purpose.

. In some cases, as when the pressure from the pressure chamber 26 upon the chemical extinguishing fluid in the'chamber 12, is not required, the apparatus may be constructed without the pressure chamber 26 and the piping and other associated mechanism, and the device shown in Fig. 1 for causing the opening of the cook 30 might be applied, as shown in Fig. 41, to act directly to bring about the mingling of the sulfuric acid and the bicarbonate of soda solution. Referring toFig. 4, a tank, or holder 100 is provided that contains bicarbonate of soda solution, and within which is placed a sulfuric acid holder 140 that is fixedly supported within the tank, a cutter 170 being provided for cutting the seal, or closure of the bottle and which is carried by a frame 150 that is connected to a rod 151 extending through the cover 160 of the tank (a bellows 161 being provided for'making the gas tank connection between the inside and outside of the tank) and the rod 151 is connected to a lever 350 from which is suspended a Weight 351,

of the desired avoirdupois, which is normally prevented from descending and thereby actuating the lever by a trigger, or catch 352, which is restrained from movement by a detent 353 carried by a bellows-form device 330, which, as in the case of the bellows device-33 shown in Fig. l, is maintained in an expanded position by the pressure within it of the liquid in the supply pipe 320. Upon the efliux of liquid from the supply pipe 320 to act directly upon the sprinkler head, the bellows 330 will collapse and will draw the detent 353 out of the path of the trigger 352 and thereby the heavy weight 351 being released will fall and actuate the cutter 170 to cause the opening of the bottle 120 to allow the efflux of the sulfuric acid.

It is to be understood I do not restrict the scope of my invention to any special form of apparatus as to the construction and arrangement of parts as these may be varied without departure from the scope of the invention as set forth in the claims.

Having thus described my invention what I claim is- 1. An automatic sprinkler apparatus comprising a distributing system normally charged with a liquid, and having normally closed liquid discharge means, pressure supplying means normally disconnected from said distributing system, and means for connecting the same with the distributing system to subject liquid in the latter to pressure, comprising a control device that is in contact with the liquid in the distributing system and thereby held from action, said control device being automatically released upon the discharge of liquid from said system.

2. An automatic sprinkler apparatus comprising a distributing system normally charged with liquid and having normally closed liquid discharge means, pressure supplying means, including a pipe having a normally closed valve, a control member adapted to be actuated by pressure flowing through said pipe when the valve is open, valve-opening means, and a control device therefor having a member in contact with the liquid in the distributing system and thereby held from action, said control device being automatically released upon the discharge of liquid from said system.

3. An automatic sprinkler apparatus, comprising a distributing system normally charged with a liquid and having normally closed liquid discharge means, pressure supplying means disconnected from said distrlbuting system, means for subjecting the liquid in the distributing system to an expelling pressure, comprising a control device adapted to be actuated by pressure from said pressure supplying means, and means for controlling the subjection of said controlled device to pressure, comprising a movable member in contact with the liquid in the distributing system and thereby held from action, said member bein put into action automatically upon the discharge of liquid from said system.

manned v 4. Anautomatic-sprinkler'apparatus com agents, connections between said chambers 30 prising a .rdistributing system 'normallyfl and a common outlet, and aconnection be- '-I charged with'aliquid, and having'normally tween the chambers themselves whereby closed liquid" discharge meansj' a normally pressuregnay be transmitted-from one cham- :5 inactive pressure actuated .idevice forcausher to the contents of "another." y I 'ing the liquid in said system to be subjected 7 Anautomatic sprinkler apparatus com- 35- ,to an expelling pressure, pressure supplyin I prising: a jdistributing system normally w means, and' 'automatic 'means "to place said charged with liquid and having a normally pressure supplying meansin communication closed liquid dischargemeans, a pressure 10 withsai'd pressure actuated dev-ijceiand comchamber, a gravitating weightacting on the prlsing a member in contact with the liquid contents of said chamber; a pipe commum- 4e ,in'the distributing system and-therebylield cating withs'aid pressure chamber and havy from action; until the discharge of "liquid; ing a normally closed valv'e,sa1d pi-pezalso from said system. I being in communication with the liquid in v automatic sprinkler apparatus com- 1 the distributing system to transmit'pressure prising a distributing system [normally theretoQvalve opening means, and a control 45 I ;charged'w?ith, li uid and' having normally device thereforhavinga'member-in conjclose dfliquid discharge means, (pressure tact with-the liquid in the distributing sysf 'threugh said pipe whenthe valve is open, system.

supplying means, including a pipe having" tem and thereby heldfrom action, said dona normallyclosed va1ve, a control member trol device being automatically released "adapted to be actuated "by pressure flowing upon" they dis hargeof liquid from sald 50 said pipe also being in communication with In testimony that I claim the 'foregoing I y the liquidin the distributing system wherehave hereunto set my f -by such liquid is directly-subjected to pressure from said pressure supplying means; I :6; A fire,extinguishingqapparatus com- Witnesses v "prising separatechambers, respectively, for v 'CHAS. J. WILLIAMSON,

difierent kinds 'of chemical fire treating JAMES s-:-

R. BRODTLON. 

